Plate-straightening machine.



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PLATE STHlGHTENlNG MACHINE.

(Application filed Aug. 26, 1898.)

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D. TowNsENn. PLATE STRAIGHTENING MACHINE.

(Application led Aug. 26, 189B.)

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PLATE STRAIGHTENING MACHINE.

(Application filed Aug. 26, 1898.1

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PLATE STRAIGHTENING MACHINE.

(Application led Aug. 26, 1898.)

5 Shggts-Sheet 5 DAVID TOVNSEND, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

PLATE-STRAIGHTENING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 654,080, dated July17', 1900. Application filed August 26, 1898. Serial No. 689,594. (Nomoclcl.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID TowNsEND, a citizen of the United States,residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certainImprovements in Plate Straightening Machines, of which the following isa specification.

The object of my invention is to improve the construction of aplate-straightening machine, so that the parts can be readily adjustedand by which better work can be produced.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure I is a side view of myimproved platestraightening machine. Fig. l is a plan view. Fig. 3 is anenlarged end view. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section on the line 4 4,Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5 5, Fig. 8. Fig. 6 isaperspective view of one of the bushings.

In straightening rolled plates it is essential that thestraightening-rolls be accurately adjusted and the mechanism so arrangedas to be quickly operated. Furthermore, it is important that theframework ofthe machine be mounted on a rm foundation, but so that itcan be adjusted either bodily or in sections.

A A are the two shoe bed-plates firmly secured to the foundation, andupon these bedplates are housings B B', secured in position by bolts aor other fastenin gs. The shoe bedplates are longer than the machine,and on the extension ot these bed-plates is mounted the frame C,supporting the driving mechanism. In the present instance I have showntwo vertical steam-engines C in outline; but it will be understood thatelectric or other motors may be substituted for the steam-engines, ifdesired.

D represents the lower-set of straightenin g-rolls, and E represents theupper set. The lower set of rolls are of the form clearly illustrated inFig. 5 and adapted to bushings d, mounted in the housings B B. The outerflanges` of the bushing are square, so as to it between the ribs b ofthe housings, thus preventing the bushings turning with the rolls.

The central roll has an extension d at one end, on which is mountedalarge gear-wheel D', which meshes with a gear-wheel d2 on a shaft D2,adapted to bearings d3, one on the housingB and the other on theengine-frame C.

C2 is the crank-shaft of the engine and has a gear-wheel o, meshing witha wheel c' on the shaft D2, so that motion is imparted to the lower setof rolls D through the train of gears.

On the spindle of each of the lower rollsD are gear-wheels d4, whichmesh with intermediate wheels c25, mounted on shafts d6, adapted tobearings in the housing and in a bracket b. By this arrangement of gearsthe lower rolls turn in the same direction and in unison. In the presentinstance there are three lower rolls and four upper rolls. Each of theupper rolls is adapted to rest in half-boxes e, having projections c onthe under side, and each of these projections has a cavity for thereception of a counterbalance-rod E', connected to a lever E2 at c2. Thelever in turn is hung from a link e3, supported at e4 on an extension ofthe housing. ries counterbalance-weights E3, adapted to each end of eachupper roll, so as to counterbalance each roll that 'it may beindependently and readily adjusted.

The lever E2 car- Y The rods E' pass through vertical openings in thehousings, as illustrated in Fig. 4.

Mounted on each journal of the upper rolls are cap-bearings e5, andabove each of these cap-bearings is a screw F. This screw is adapted toanut F', mounted in the housing.

The screws of each end roll are provided with worm -wheels f, gearingwith worms f lon shafts f2, having hand wheels f3, so that either one ofthe end rolls can be adj usted independently of the two central rolls.Each screw is provided with a gear-wheel g, the adjoining wheelsmeshing. The screws of one of the center rolls are extended, and eachscrew is provided with a worm-wheel C which meshes with a worm g2 on ashaft G, and on turning this shaft all the screws are raised or lowered.When the screws are raised, the weights E3 will elevate the rolls, so asto'keep them in contact with the bearing caps and screws, as the weightsE3 overbalance the rolls.

I provide mechanism whereby one end or the other of the rolls mayberaised or lowered, or both ends may be raised or lowered. If,

Afor instance, al thick sheet is to be straight-- ened, then both endsof the several rolls are IOO raised; but if the pressure is to berelieved on one sidemore than on the other then only one end of eachroll is elevated, and, furthermore,

if it is desired to raise or lower each of the center rollsindependently I can do so by turning the nuts F', as shown in Fig. 4. Onthe upper end of each nut is a collar f4, secured to the nut by aset-screw f5, and this collar has a series of perforations in thepresent instance, so ,that the bar can beinsertedinto any one of theperforations after it has been released by unscrewing the set-screw f6,which presses against the block f7 in the housing, this block in turnpressing against the nut F'.

In order to raise and lower the upper rolls by power, I loosely mount onthe shaft G, which extends across the full length of the machine, aloose gear-wheel h, having clutchteeth h', adapted to engage aclutch-head h2 on a wheel h3, adapted to slide on but turn with theshaft G, so that when the hand-wheel h3 is forced forward it engageswith the teeth of the wheel h, and if this wheel is driven it will turnthe shaft G, and consequently raise or lower the several screws at eachend of the machine, as there are worms g2 at each end of the shaft,which engage with the worm-wheels g', described above.

The gear-wheel h meshes with a wheel i', adapted to a fixed stud I,projecting from the bearing I-I on the housing, and this wheel has acone extension i', forming the internal cone of `a clutch. A gear-wheelt2 has a cone extension vla, forming the outer cone of the clutch, sothat when the two cones are forced together the friction will cause themto turn in unison. The wheel 2 meshes with the main driving- Wheel D',Fig. 5, so that when the driving wheel is in motion the wheel 712 isalso in motion. In order to keep the wheels i and h normally at rest, Iprovide a spring 4, which forces the wheel i2 away from the wheel t' assoon `as the wheel is released from the control of the threaded head J,which is adapted to threads t5 on the stud I. This head has a shortextension j in the form of a shaft provided with a hand-wheelj, so thaton turning the hand-Wheel and the head in one direction the wheel i2will be forced in frictional contact with the wheel 'i and motion willbe imparted to the shaft G from the main driving-wheel. On the reversemovement the wheel will be released aud the spring will force it vout offrictional contact with the wheel t'. It will thus be seen that theseveral screws for adjusting the rolls can be turned by simply throwingin one clutch and they can also be moved by hand by throwing out theclutch and turning the screws by the hand-wheel.

In order to keep the bearings of the lower rolls cool, I enlarge theopenings in the housings for the bushings, forming Water-cavities Ic,Fig. 5, and drill diagonal passages 7o', which communicate with thesewater-cavities. S uitable water-pipes may be tapped into thesepascavities to the vertical openings in the housings for the rods of thecounterbalance device H, so that there will be a continuous flow ofwater through the cavity.

I secure to cross-beams M M, attached to the shoe bed-plates A, ahydraulic cylinder N, the piston N' of this cylinder being secured tothe housing B'. This cylinder is for the purpose of moving the housingB' when it is desired to remove any one or all of the rolls D or E, andby simply loosening the bolts a, which hold the housing to thebed-plates and detaching certain of the part-s, fluid introduced intothe cylinder will move the housing on the bed-plate, so that access maybe had to any one or all of the rolls. When the rolls are in position,all that is necessary is to move the housing back to its normal positionby means of the hydraulic mechanism. S is a roll mounted on a shaft S',adapted to bearings on the housings, and this Vroll is the feed-roll forthe machine and is situated, preferably, at the end of a train of rollswhich feed the plate to the machine. The shaft S also has its bearingson a standard secured to the engine base-plate C and has a wheel sgeared to the wheel c on the driving-shaft C2 of the engine.

The standards c2 and s3 have bearings for the shafts C2 and S2,respectively, and are mounted on a cross-frame A', situated between thehousing B and the engine bed-plate C. When the feed-roll S is dispensedwith, as in the case where the feed-roll of the feedtable isindependently driven, then. this intermediate cross-frame A is dispensedwith. It will be noticed that the engine base-plate C has two endmembers c? c3 and a cross member c4, which is mounted at one side of thecenter and on which the verticalengines are placed. This enginebase-plate C is secured to the shoe bed-plates by bolts, so that it canbe readily detached from the base-plate and moved thereon or shifted, asdesired, and it can be reversed, so that the engine can be arranged atthe front or back, as desired. It will also be seen that by arrangingthe machine on the two shoe `bed-plates it can be built irrespective ofthe space in which it IOO IIO

is to be finally located. The housings and v dispensed with and themechanism geared to an intermediate clutch-shaft.

I claim as my inventionl. The combination in a plate-straighteningmachine, of housings, boxes mounted in said housings, a series of upperand lower straightening-rolls mounted in the boxes, means for drivingthe lower set of rolls, means for adjusting each of the upper rolls, andindependent counterbalance mechanism for each end of each upper roll,substantially as set forth.

2. The combination in a plate-straightening machine, of housings, tworows of boxes in each of said housings, a series of rolls mounted in thelower boxes, means for driving said rolls, a series of rolls mounted inthe boxes above the spaces between the lower rolls, and counterbalancemechanism for each end of each upper roll, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination ina plate-straightening machine, of the housing, theupper and lower rolls, screws for adjusting the upper rolls, gears onthe screws meshing one with another so that when one screw is turned theseries will be turned, a worm-wheel on an extension of one of thescrews, a shaft having a worm meshing with the worm-wheel, a gear-wheelloose on the shaft, and clutching mechanism by which the wheel can besecured to the shaft, a wheel meshing with said gear-wheel and having aclutch-face, another gear-wheel also having a clutch-face adapted toengage the clutch-face of the intermediate gear, said gear-wheel beingdriven from the main driving-wheel of the machine, substantially asdescribed.

4. The combination of the upper and lower rolls, a screw for adjustingone of the upper rolls, means for turning said screw, a nut mountedwithin the housing and through which the screw passes, mechanism forturning said nut, and adjustable means for holding the nut from turningin the housing, substantially as described.

5. The combination in a plate-straightening machine, of the housing, aseries of lower rolls and a series of upper rolls above the spacesbetween the lower rolls, bushings for the lowerrolls, vertical channelsbetween the bushings of the lower rolls for the passage ofcounterbalance mechanism for the upper rolls, and water-spacessurrounding the bushings of the lower rolls and communicating with thechannels, substantially as described.

6. The combination of a driven wheel having a clutch-face, a gear-wheelalso havinga clutch-face, means for moving one wheel toward or from theother, an operating-shaft, a gear-wheel loose on said shaft and meshingwith the clutch gear-wheel, with means for connecting the said wheel tothe operatingshaft, substantially as described.

7. The combination in a plate-straightening machine, of the twohousings, a series of upper and lower straightening-rolls, means fordriving the lower rolls, counterbalance mechanism for each end ofeachupper roll, nuts in the housings, screws passing through the nutsand adapted to adjust the upper rolls, a frame mounted on each of thehousings, a cross-shaft adapted to bearings in each frame and geared tothe screw-shaft, a gearwheel on said cross-shaft, a stud projecting fromone of the frames, a pinion meshing with the gear-wheel, a drivengear-wheel also on the stud, and friction mechanismbetween the drivengear-wheel and the pinion, sub-V stantially as described.

8. The combination in a plate-straightening machine, of the twohousings, the upper and lower series of rolls mounted in the housings, alarge gear-wheel mounted on thejournal of one of the lower rolls, theother rolls being geared to said driven roll, screws for adj usting theupper rolls, a cross-shaft extending from one housing to the other andgeared to the screws, a gear-wheel meshing with the large gear-wheel ofthe lower roll, a pinion,` clutch mechanism between the gear-wheel andthe pinion, a gear-wheel on the crossshaft meshing with the pinion, anda handwheel on the cross-shaft, substantially as described.

9. The combination in a plate-straightening machine, of housings, twosets of bearings in each housing, a series of upper rolls mounted in oneset of bearings, and a series of lower rolls mounted in the other set, alarge gear-wheel mounted on the journal of one of the lower rolls, theother rolls of the lower set being gearedto the said driven roll,counterbalance mechanism for the upper rolls, screws for adjusting theupper rolls, a

shaft extending from one housing to the other and geared to the severalscrews, a gearwheel meshing with the large gear-wheel of the lower roll,and connected to the transverse shaft, substantially7 as described.

In testimony whereof l have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

DAVID TOWNSEND.

Witnesses:

EDWD. RAMsEY, F. E. BEcHToLD.

